Jumbo Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Let me tell how quickly I decided to make this cook recipe.....

I'd just put my daughter into the tub to play in a bubble bath. About 5 minutes later I decided to sit down at the computer to check my blog. My husband and son were moaning about not having any dessert but I told them that it wasn't happening because I didn't have time to squeeze it in. I always check my "blogging buddies" list on my blog to see what my friends are cooking or baking. My friend, Amanda @ Amanda's Cookin', baked chocolate peanut butter cookies. MMM!!! Just what I was searching for....a quick, easy recipe that would satisfy their needs for dessert.  Plus, how did she know that I'd been craving chocolate and peanut butter?

This recipe is very easy to whip up. The peanut butter definitely shines through. I had to add about 3 more tbsp. of milk to my cookies because the dough was a bit dry. I also used a large ice cream scoop to make the cookies jumbo sized. The truth is that I really didn't feel like standing in the kitchen scooping out multiple trays of cookies. I added 4 minutes to the baking time.

Here are the cookies right out of oven and still warm. So good!

The next time I make this recipe I'm going to add some chocolate chips. I might dip them into chocolate, too!

Jumbo Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
adapted from Amanda's Cookin'

1/2 cup shortening (or butter flavored shortening)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tbsp milk + more if dough seems a little dry. I used 3 tbsp more
1 tbsp vanilla
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 375*.

Combine shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.

Combine flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.

Drop by large tbsp (or use a large cookie scoop) 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

Bake for 10- 12 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to racks to cool completely.

March Cookie Carnival Round Up - Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookies

 It's time for another Cookie Carnival Round Up!

There were two chocolate cookie recipes to choose from this month:

Choc. Mint Sandwich Cookies 

Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookies

Everyone in this round up chose to make the Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookies from Quaker Oats. I must say, these cookies are so good! My cookie monsters gobbled them up quickly. This recipe is a keeper for us.

Check out what everyone else had to say...

Katrina @ Baking and Boys made some healthy changes to her cookies. She said that they were really good.

Tessa @ The Cookin Chemist - Said that she's more of a vanilla girl than chocolate but you should check out what her hubby did with them!

Shonda @ The Knowlton Nest added wheat germ to her cookies to make them healthier.

 Ana @ Anasbageri described her cookies "more like small cakes, very light, pleasant and sweet".

Barb @ Mom's Fridge said "With a name like that, how wrong could you go with this recipe? Answer: there's nothing wrong at all here--just plenty of deliciousness.".

Vivian @ Let's Try These said "I kid you not, this is one killer cookie recipe.".

and  my cookies Tami @ Tami's Kitchen Table Talk said "These cookies are soft and chewy and down right delicious!".

WAIT!!  We have 3 more bakers to include this month! The first two became victims of the Internet in outer space. Not sure if they just disappeared or if I'm having trouble with my email address again. For this reason, I am changing the email address connected with the Cookie Carnival - details to follow! I will email everyone about it and you will see the changes here on my blog. The last baker to be shown is Krista. Somehow I overlooked her entry. I apologize!! I have all of the entries for the month staring me in my face when I do the round up but I just skipped it and marked it "read". I'm a dork for doing this. I'm so sorry!!

Juliana @ Horneando Algo used mini M&Ms in place of the nuts. Oh yeah! A girl after my own heart!!

Tiffiny @ The Bake - Off Flunkie added chocolate chips to her recipe but that's not all...she froze the cookie dough and then bake them for a wonderful chewy cookie. Check out her results. Clever!

Krista @  Meet the Swans added peanut butter cups to her cookies. Who could resist these?

 Please take a few minutes to check out the blogs from all of these great bakers. Share some bloggy love!!

Thanks for this AMAZING round up!!

If you would like to join us in baking with the Cookie Carnival, click here to read more about it.
Everyone is welcome here!!

Happy Baking!
Tami

Menu Plan Monday - April 3 - 9

Can you believe that I've actually finished our menu for the week already? I have a lot to do in the next couple of days so I'm posting this now before I get busy and can't find the time to do it.

I managed to follow most of the menu last week, although I did switch out a couple of meals.

This week we're having: 

Sunday - *new* southwestern pasta & cheese & salad

Monday - hubby's birthday dinner - we're grilling steaks

Tuesday - *new* grilled Asian pork burgers, grilled veggies, & French fries - we will have dessert at McD's for my daughter's school fundraiser. I'll be working there for the school.

Wednesday - beef barley vegetable soup & egg salad sandwiches (hubby requested egg salad)

Thursday - *new* crockpot chuck roast sandwiches, 3 cheese mashed potatoes and stuffing. (I'm ending up with a super busy day. We are catering dinner at the elem. school for the teacher's parent conferences. I have to be there for delivery and clean up. In between, I will need to go to the middle school to train for proctoring for the EOGs and then after clean up of the food, my son has a soccer game. What a long night)

Friday - *new* Pizza Cordon Bleu and salad

Saturday - open right now

Menu Plan Monday

If you're checking out my menu plan, stop by and say "hi!" I love to talk!!

Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs

I found this wonderful recipe for Chinese chicken wings Wings on the blog Easy to be Gluten Free. Although we are not a gluten free family, there are many wonderful recipes on her blog that everyone can enjoy.

I decided to use the sauce portion of her recipe on the boneless chicken thighs that I had planned on making for dinner. I parboiled the chicken for 10 minutes and then broiled it in the oven for the remaining cooking time. I would've grilled it but my husband just cleaned the grill and he was not happy with the idea of me using a sugary glaze on it tonight. The next time I will grill it because I think that the caramelizing of the sauce will give it one more layer of flavor to enjoy!

My kids and husband raved about this dish. It's easy to make and definitely a keeper!

Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs

1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 tsp. five spice powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
2-3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs

(I doubled the sauce recipe)

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Add chicken thighs to a large pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and then turn down to medium-high to cook for 10 minutes. Drain.

In a large bowl combine sauce ingredients. Toss the chicken thighs with the sauce mixture.

Place thighs on a foil lined cookie sheet. Pour any remaining sauce over the wings.

Broil until cooked through - about 8 minutes, turning and brushing every 3 minutes with the sauce.

Quick & Easy Strawberry Shortcake

I ran into Aldi a couple of days ago to pick up a couple of things. They were having a sale on strawberries - large containers for .99. Great deal! I picked up 3 boxes with bright, juicy berries. For this time of year, these strawberries were surprisingly sweet. Still, I cleaned them, put them into a container and dumped some Splenda on them. There are foods that we like the taste of Splenda on better than sugar. They sat on the kitchen table for a couple of hours after dinner.

I had some biscuit mix in the cupboard so I whipped up some shortcakes to go along with the strawberries for an easy dessert.

Not a fancy recipe but it sure makes a pretty dessert.

Quick & Easy Strawberry Shortcake

strawberries, cleaned and sliced
sugar or Splenda for topping strawberries

Recipe from the back of the biscuit mix box:

2 c. baking mix
3 tbsp. Splenda
3 tbsp. margarine, melted
1/3 c. milk - I used 2/3 c.

Top strawberries with sugar or Splenda. If your berries aren't really juicy, sprinkle them with a little water, lemon or orange juice. Set aside to macerate.

For biscuits, stir together ingredients until well blended. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle the tops with Splenda. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

To serve:

Split biscuits and cover with berries. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

There must be more than 100 recipes floating around right now for chicken tortilla soup. Everyone likes to put their own spin on it. My husband and I recently ate lunch at McAlister's Deli. He had their chicken tortilla soup and loved it. He asked me if I could duplicate it at home. A challenge indeed.

After a long search, I found this copycat recipe from Food.com.

Was it a dead ringer for the soup that my husband had eaten? No. However, it was very good. With a few tweaks, we will have it again. The taste was close to McAlister's but *something* was missing. This soup was not as thick as the tortilla soup from that day. You also couldn't see the chunks of salsa or chicken in the restaurant soup. None the less, the whole family liked it.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onions, chopped
3 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
4 cups half-and-half
1 (10 3/4 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup salsa
1 (15 ounce) cans creamed corn
3 cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 1/2 tablespoons fajita seasoning mix
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
16 ounces tortilla chips
8 ounces Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
1/8 cup green onions, chopped (I omitted)

In a large pot over medium heat, saute the garlic and onion in the butter or margarine for 5 minutes.

Add flour and stir well, cooking for 1 minute more.

Add the broth and half-and-half. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Add the soup, salsa, corn, chicken, cumin, fajita seasoning and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Stir and continue to heat for 15 minutes.

Crumble tortilla chips into individual bowls, add 1/2 ounce shredded cheese to each bowl and ladle in soup. Top each bowl with more crumbled chips, remaining 1/2 ounce cheese and remaining 1 tablespoon cilantro, few chopped green onions and serve.

Linking up to:

Tuesday at the Table
Mangia Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Johnny Marzetti

Have you heard of Johnny Marzetti before? It's a dish that we ate for school lunches back when I was in school.

Where did the name come from? According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette website, Johnny Marzetti is a casserole created in the 1920s by the owner of the Marzetti Restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. Who was Johnny Marzetti? According to the "American Century Cookbook" by Jean Anderson, Johnny Marzetti was the brother of the owner of the Marzetti Restaurant.

Casseroles steamrolled into the kitchen in the 1940s and have remained popular staples to this day. The Johnny Marzetti casserole was popular in the mid '50s and early '60s. It consists of meat, pasta and either tomato sauce, soup or juice.

My husband and I were talking about school lunches and comparing them to what our kids eat in school now. I decided to look up a recipe for Johnny Marzetti to see if I could duplicate the school's recipe. Did I duplicate it? No, not exactly. But the dish that I created was delicious. Like chili, it tastes even better warmed up as leftovers. The recipe that I remember had more of a spaghetti sauce sort of taste with no onion and peppers showing in it. Some say the original recipe contains cheese but I don't ever remember cheese in what I ate. There's also a controversy over whether or not it was made with egg noodles or elbow macaroni. It was always elbows for us.

This was a nice trip down memory lane.

Johnny Marzetti

1 pound ground chuck
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 teaspoon oil
1 large can tomatoes (29 ounces)
1 large can tomato juice
1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Garlic salt, to taste

Brown meat, onion and green pepper in oil.

Drain, then add tomatoes, tomato juice and spices.

Add cooked macaroni to sauce. Simmer 10 minutes and serve.

Store any leftovers in a sealed container. It's even better the next day!

Turkey Meatball & Spinach Calzones

We love calzones but to find a really good one around here at a restaurant is a big challenge, not to mention the price! It's not as hard as you might think to make your own. I took a big short cut and used frozen bread dough. If you're more inclined to make your own dough, here's an easy bread machine dough recipe that's delicious.

Either way, just add your favorite pizza toppings and bake. It's that simple.

Tonight's calzones have turkey meatballs, spinach, mozzarella cheese and pizza sauce in them. MMM! The wonderful thing about this recipe is that it's so versatile. You can clean out the frig and stuff it into a calzone and your family will think that you are a 5-star chef! Get creative and get the kids into the kitchen. It will taste even better to them since they've helped to make it.

Turkey Meatball & Spinach Calzones

2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed according to package directions. Let rise according to package directions
1 bag frozen turkey meatballs, thawed
1/2 bag frozen spinach, thawed
shredded mozzarella cheese
pizza sauce

Sprinkle flour onto a large cutting board or onto the table. Divide each loaf of bread in half. Working with one piece of bread at a time, roll it out flat.

Cut the turkey meatballs in half. Lay 12- 14 pieces onto the bottom half of the dough. Spoon 2-3 tbsp. of pizza sauce over the meatballs.

Divide the spinach into 4 equal amounts. Sprinkle 1/4 of the spinach over the meatballs and sauce. Top with a generous sprinkling of cheese.

Fold the top half of the dough down over the filling. Wrap the dough into a rope form around the edges of the calzone, making sure the edges are sealed tightly. Refer to picture for help.

Lay the calzone on a baking sheet. Bake at 350* for 45-55 minutes, depending on the size and ingredients. Bake until the calzones are a deep golden brown. Serve with a side of pizza sauce for dipping.

Linking up to:
Rock Your Recipes

Food on Fridays

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

The lemon and rosemary in this chicken dish is very light and refreshing. It was a nice change. I love cooking with fresh herbs but they are few and far between around here right now. Once the farmers market starts up again, it should become a good source for me. This recipe was originally supposed to be made with basil but since I went to 3 stores looking for fresh basil and couldn't find it, I settled on dried rosemary and went home.

I will definitely try this recipe again using fresh rosemary or fresh basil.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

4 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. dried rosemary
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
6 boneless chicken breast pounded out to 1/2 inch

In a small bowl, stir together the first 7 ingredients. Set aside

Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a large frying pan. Add chicken breasts. Coat the top of each chicken breast liberally with the olive oil mixture. Flip the chicken over to the other side and coat that side liberally with the mixture, too.

Turn the heat to medium-high. Fry chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until it is browned on both sides. (It's ok if a little pink is still showing in the middle).

Removed chicken from the frying pan and place on a baking sheet. Little drizzle each piece of chicken with olive oil and a pinch of rosemary.

Place baking sheet under broiler set at 475*. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until nicely brown and just a little crispy around the edges. Watch the chicken carefully to make sure not to over cook it. There is nothing worse than dry chicken!

Remove from oven and drizzle lemon juice over all of the chicken. Serve immediately.

Linking up to:
Friday Potluck

Menu Plan Monday

What happened to spring? All of a sudden we are drifting backwards into the cold, rainy (and sometimes snowy) weather again! I have beautiful sunny spring days on my mind, not these cold, dreary days that we've been having. It's only 45* here today! I did some major spring cleaning over the weekend and boy am I glad that I didn't pack the sweatshirts and heavy pants away.

Nothin' like soup to warm to warm us up. That's what's on the menu tonight. My daughter made a special request for this chicken noodle soup . I think that we will skip the grilled cheese tonight but I will fill it in with warm bread sticks.

Does anyone else have a hard time finding fresh herbs in the grocery stores around them? We have 3 major chains right in our area but none of them carry a good selection of fresh herbs and the ones that look decent cost a fortune. I've decided that I'm going to try growing some. I'm not much of a green thumb but since my kids and I were able to grow cherry tomatoes from seeds last year, I've caught the gardening bug. If anyone has any tips, I'd appreciate them!

On to this week's menu....

Monday - chicken and dumpling soup with breadsticks

Tuesday - tacos and Spanish rice. Trying a small side of chipotle potato salad

Wednesday - meatball and spinach calzones (didn't make them last week)

Thursday - chicken tortilla soup

Friday - breakfast for dinner: eggs benedict bagel sandwiches and fried potatoes

Saturday - homemade baked fish sandwiches and french fries or sweet potato fries

What's on your menu this week? 

Menu Plan Monday

Pork & Beans Chili

Tonight's meal was part 3 using the pork loin that I bought a while back. For $14.98 I was able to make 3 big delicious dinners - Lime-Glazed Pork Loin, Pork Soulvaki, and today's dinner Pork & Beans Chili.

Slowly but surely, I'm trying to get my family to try different types of beans. So far, they only types that any of the 3 of them will eat are green beans and black beans. I used one of my favorites, cannellini beans, in the chili tonight. The pork and beans blended with the tomatoes creating a yummy chili.

  
Pork & Beans Chili

1lb. boneless pork loin, cubed into small pieces
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 c. water
1 palm full of chili powder
1/2 palm full of cumin
2 big pinches of garlic powder
2 big pinches of onion powder
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
(I apologize for the measurements but I didn't
plan on blogging about this meal until it turned
out so delicious.)
1 lg. can of canellini beans, drained well

In a large frying pan, brown the pork. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Mix together the tomatoes and the water. Pour into a blender and puree until smooth.

Pour the pureed tomatoes back into the large frying pan. Stir in the seasonings. Add the pork.

Stir well. Cover and cook on medium-low for 20 minutes. Stir in beans and continue cooking for 10 minutes.

Serve with warm cornbread.


Linking to:

Frugal Follies Thursday

Hummingbird Cupcakes in the Buff

The hummingbird cake seems to have deep roots in the south. There are many speculations as to where it originated. Some say it was a recipe submitted to Southern Living Magazine by a southern lady. While others say it originated in Jamaica...bananas and pineapple are from the area so these ingredients were use often in cakes. The cake is said to be named after Jamaica's national bird. N o matter where this cake originated, I'm glad that the recipe made it to our neck of the woods.

I had never heard of hummingbird cake before moving to the Charlotte area. It's very popular all around here. Since cupcakes go over way better than cake at our house, I decided to give them a whirl. Think banana bread filled with fruit and nuts. MMM! Bananas keep the cupcakes moist and delicious. The pineapple takes on a glazed, sugar-coated taste and the coconut and pecans give a nice little crunch. The sugars from the bananas and pineapple form a slightly sticky crust around the edges of each cupcake.

Traditional hummingbird cake is usually frosted with cream cheese frosting. My cupcakes were so sweet and moist and delicious that I decided to leave them plain. Why add more sugar if it's really not needed? My family agreed.

Take a look at those bananas peeking through. Don't you just want to stick your finger right into it?

I've done a lot of research on recipes for hummingbird cake. Most of the ingredients are the same - the only change, depending on which recipe you use, is choosing to use either oil or butter.

Hummingbird Cupcakes in the Buff

3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp cloves
2 sticks butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. sugar
3 lg. eggs
2 c. ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 large bananas)
8 oz. crushed pineapple
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. sweetened coconut

Preheat over to 350*  Line cupcake pan with liners or use silicone holders.

Wisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix butter, vanilla, and sugar until combined.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well before adding the next. Beat at medium speed for 3 minutes until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy.

Stir together banana, pineapple, walnuts, and coconut. Add to egg mixture, mixing until combined.

Stir the fruit mixture into the flour mixture.

I used a large ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake liners. Fill 2/3 full. Do not be tempted to fill to the rim. The cupcakes won't bake higher, they will just spill out onto the pan. (I proved it.)

Bake for 22-25 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through baking.

Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

I'm linking up to:

House of Hempworths
Life As Mom 
I'm Lovin' It
Sweet Tooth Friday 
Muffin Monday

Menu Plan for March 20 - 26

Our menu for this week is a mix of new recipes, along with some family favs. There should be no complaining from anyone. :)

Sunday - cheeseburgers and wacky mac pasta salad

Monday - whole baked chicken baked with potatoes & carrots and cottage cheese on the side (I will be using the spices from this Atkins recipe.)

Tuesday - chili and corn bread

Wednesday - grilled honey & soy chicken wings and Asian noodles

Thursday - school function - BBQ plate dinner PTA fundraiser- I will be working at the school all afternoon and evening. We will probably grab something to eat out either before or after my son's soccer practice that evening. Sadly none of us like NC BBQ so that won't work for our dinners.

Friday - lemon sage chicken with mushrooms, jasmine rice and a Greek salad

Saturday - meatball, spinach & cheese calzones

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Back to the busy schedule this week.

Short and sweet. Here's our menu for the week:

Sunday - lime-glazed pork loin, potatoes, green beans and cucumber salad

Monday - pasta with red or white sauce

Tuesday - pork soulvaki, rice and salad

Wednesday - meatloaf, "stuffed" mashed potatoes and carrots

Thursday - cobb salad

Friday - bbq jack chicken, noodles and gravy and corn (hopefully I get to finally make this recipe.)

Saturday - taco chicken quesadillas and fiesta rice.

Menu Plan Monday

Lime-Glazed Boneless Pork Loin

I caught a good deal on boneless pork loin at Sam's Club last week - $14.98 for a huge loin. I forgot to take notice of how much it actually weight but put it this way, I cut it into 3 pieces to make 3 big meals out of it. :)  1/3 of it will become Pork Souvlaki this week, 1/3 will become some sort of stew or chili and the last 1/3 because tonight's dinner, Lime-Glazed Pork Loin.

This is another recipe from my Taste of Home Cookbook. They call it Lime-Glazed Pork Chops. I was really skeptical making this today. The whole time I was wondering whether or not my family would even try it because of the jalapeno peppers and orange rind on the showing on the meat. Things have been a little touch and go at our house lately because I've been trying new recipes and not sticking to the same old, same old. In fact, I went off on a bit of a rant because I got tired of my husband's griping before he had even tried any of the new recipes. That must have worked to open their eyes to not saying anything before trying it because today I didn't hear a peep before the cut into the pork. I didn't say anything, I just looked around awaiting the first comment. My daughter piped right up and said "MMM! Mommy, this is great!". My husband and son quickly added that they both liked it, too. Holy cow! A new recipe with "strange stuff" on the meat ....and they like it! Miracles never do cease, do they?

Besides using boneless pork loin cut into chops instead of regular bone-in chops, the only time I strayed was to double the amount of the glaze. It turned out to be a very tasty recipe. I would marinate the pork overnight in a citrus marinade the next time for a little more citrus flavor. This is definitely a keeper.

Lime-Glazed Boneless Pork Loin
adapted from Taste of Home

1/3 cup orange marmalade
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
4 bone-in pork loin chops (8 ounces each)
4 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
Lime wedges

For glaze, in a small saucepan, combine the marmalade, jalapeno, lime juice and ginger. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until marmalade is melted. Remove from the heat; set aside.

Using long-handled tongs, moisten a paper towel with cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack. Grill pork chops, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 6-7 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160°, brushing with glaze during the last 5 minutes.

** Notes** Keep a close eye on the pork as it's cooking. Do not overcook it.

Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

  

Ham & Broccoli Strata

My husband and kids gave me The Taste of Home Cookbook * New Revised Edition for Mother's Day last year. I've spent many nights flipping through the pages reading it like a good book. But up until now, I haven't made any of the recipes. I finally flipped through the book and picked out several recipes that I will be trying over the next few weeks.

For the first new recipe, I made a Ham & Broccoli Strata. Although it turned out picture perfect, it wasn't a big hit with my husband and daughter. My son and I liked it but neither of us were in a hurry to add it to the menu again. I made only one substitution - switched the Swiss cheese for a combo of Monterrey Jack and Cheddar- but this could've been a big mistake. For my taste buds, something was missing. I bet that the "bite" of the Swiss cheese would've been much better. My son didn't care for the bread in it. I think that I would try this recipe again using Swiss cheese. I would also cut the bread into smaller chunks and make sure that the bread got mixed with the wet ingredients.

Here's the recipe with the only sub in bold.

Ham & Broccoli Strata
recipe from Taste of Home

6 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
3/4 pound thinly sliced deli ham, cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese - I subbed a mix of Monterrey Jack and Cheddar Cheese
1 loaf (8 ounces) French bread, cut into 1-inch slices
6 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons dried minced onion
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika

In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, ham and cheese; spread half into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Arrange bread slices on top. Cover with remaining broccoli mixture. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, onion, mustard and hot pepper sauce. Pour over broccoli mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 12 servings.

Please bear with me.....

I'm not going crazy with all of the changes that have been appearing with my blog. The last template froze up my computer so I'm trying to find something that will work. I hope to have things straightened out by tomorrow!!

March '11 Cookie Carnival: Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookies

Last night I decided to make one of the March Cookie Carnival's cookies, Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookies from Quaker Oats. I'm happy that I did. These cookies are soft and chewy and down right delicious. My kids raved about them.

Halfway through the recipe I realized that I was out of eggs. I decided to hit the Internet to see if I could find a reasonable substitute for the 2 eggs that the recipe called for. There are several dry substitutes out there but I wanted to add a wet ingredient for at least one of the eggs. Applesauce is a common substitute but I was also out of it. One recommendation was 3 tbsp. mayo. I knew that I had some in the frig. so that took care of one egg. I used 2 tbsp. cornstarch to substitute the other egg. I also read that no matter what you use as a sub., you should always add in two extra teaspoons of baking powder. I continued on with the rest of the recipe.

The recipe called for nuts but since my husband is not fond of nuts in cookies - but is really fond of raisins - it was a no-brainer to add raisins. Delicious! Like eating chocolate covered raisins in cookie form. :)

Here's my recipe including the substitutions I made:

Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookies
original recipe

One  8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
8  tablespoons (1 stick) margarine or butter, softened
1  cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2  cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons mayo
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/2  teaspoon vanilla
2  cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour
3-1/2  teaspoons baking soda
3  cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1  cup raisins
 
In large bowl, beat cream cheese, margarine and sugars until creamy. Add mayo, corn starch and vanilla; beat well. Add melted chocolate; mix well.

Add combined flour and baking soda; mix well. Add oats and nuts; mix well.

Heat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are almost set. (Centers should still be moist. Do not overbake.) Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

*Recipe Notes*

To melt chocolate chips, place in 1-quart glass measuring cup or microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Or, place in top part of double boiler over hot, not boiling, water; stir occasionally until smooth.

*My Notes*

The recipe calls for chilling the cookie dough beforehand. I skipped this step and just scooped and baked right after mixing it up. I couldn't tell the difference.

Store the cookies in sealed container or plastic bag. Best if eaten within 2 days.




Do you enjoy baking cookies? Join us today at the Cookie Carnival! Here's what you need to do.  I hope to bake with you soon!


Linking to:

Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays
What's On Your Plate?